This just in. Cedar Rapids is fourth in a list of best cities (pop. 100,000 to 200,000) for young professionals to live, work and play.

Duh. We knew that already. But now there’s proof. 

Madison, Wisc.,-based Next Generation Consulting, who compiles the lists for cities in three population ranges, dubs the cities “Next Cities” because they are considered to be the best places to live and work for young professionals.

The metrics used for ranking are categorized into seven indexes that the next generation uses to evaluate where they’ll live: Vitality, Earning, Learning, After Hours, Cost of Lifestyle, Around Town and Social Capital. The rankings are based on a city’s total score in all seven indexes.

Next Generation Consulting (NGC) has been studying the city and workplace preferences of the next generation since 1998.

Next Cities, population of 100,000-200,000
1. Fort Collins, Colorado
2. Charleston, South Carolina
3. Eugene, Oregon
4. Cedar Rapids, Iowa
5. Springfield, Illinois
6. Cary, North Carolina
7. Ann Arbor, Michigan
8. Sioux Falls, South Dakota
9. Pueblo, Colorado
10. Gainesville, Florida
11. Stamford, Connecticut
12. Des Moines, Iowa
13. Spokane, Washington
14. Syracuse, New York
15. Huntsville, Alabama
16. Peoria, Illinois
17. Springfield, Missouri
18. Salt Lake City, Utah
19. Richmond, Virginia
20. Hampton, Virginia

Next Cities, population of 200,000-500,000
1. Madison, Wisconsin
2. Minneapolis, Minnesota
3. Colorado Springs, Colorado
4. Atlanta, Georgia
5. St. Paul, Minnesota
6. Omaha, Nebraska
7. Cincinnati, Ohio
8. Boise, Idaho
9. Durham, North Carolina
10. New Orleans, Louisiana
11. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
12. Raleigh, North Carolina
13. Lexington, Kentucky
14. Virginia Beach, Virginia
15. Lincoln, Nebraska
16. Lubbock, Texas
17. Reno, Nevada
18. Norfolk, Virginia
19. St. Louis, Missouri
20. Orlando, Florida

Next Cities, population of over 500,000
1. San Francisco, California
2. Seattle, Washington
3. Boston, Massachusetts
4. Washington, District of Columbia
5. Denver, Colorado
6. Austin, Texas
7. Baltimore, Maryland
8. Portland, Oregon
9. New York City, New York
10. Columbus, Ohio
11. Milwaukee, Wisconsin
12. Charlotte, North Carolina
13. Chicago, Illinois
14. Nashville, Tennessee
15. Jacksonville, Florida
16. Tucson, Arizona
17. San Antonio, Texas
18. Los Angeles, California
19. San Diego, California
20. Houston, Texas